Chapter 831: Rewomu Sensing the Death Omen

Time seemed to stand still. The cultivators present were grappling with an internal conflict.

After a long while, He Zhenghao was the first to make a decision. He said in a deep voice, "I'm willing to give it a try! Anyway, I'm just a small island guardian. There's nothing to lose if I give it up!"

A long-unseen gleam of ambition appeared in He Zhenghao's eyes: "Now, with the help of the Mutual Aid Society, I've obtained a Nascent Soul cultivation technique ahead of time. The Golden Core realm is within reach, and the Nascent Soul realm will be just as easy to attain. If I can enter the Immortal Alliance's Central State Region at the Golden Core realm... my future prospects would be vastly different from staying in the Clouded Sea!"

It seemed he was trying to convince himself, or perhaps persuade everyone present to join him. He Zhenghao's tone was firm and full of instigation.

With a leader, three more cultivators subsequently made the same choice. But that was the extent of it. The vast majority of people did not have the courage or confidence to give up their current comfortable positions and challenge themselves again. After all, even with the leaked exam questions, the content in the jade slip provided by Ji Shaoli was simply too much. Whether they could memorize it all was one thing; there's a significant difference between rote memorization and true mastery. Now, with the grand exam about to begin, there was too little time left. It was simply not enough for them to prepare adequately. To put it plainly, the probability of success was not high.

However, among the eleven, four were willing to take a gamble. This proportion already somewhat exceeded Ji Shaoli's expectations. He laughed heartily as he looked at the four, including He Zhenghao, applauding and praising them: "Rest assured, you will never regret today's decision. Before the grand exam arrives, prepare yourselves on the island. I will provide you with some necessary assistance."

The four were overjoyed. The others, seeing Ji Shaoli's confident demeanor, couldn't help but feel a touch of regret. Ji Shaoli, in turn, reassured them. "After all, the Clouded Sea also needs everyone's care. There's nothing wrong with deciding to stay and develop here." Only then did everyone feel at ease.

***

Tianling State.

Li Fan and his two companions had returned to the vicinity of the Five Elements Grand Cavern entrance. The earthquake in Qiling State had attracted the Immortal Alliance's attention. Along the way, they hadn't alerted anyone. The process of relocating the Five Elements Grand Cavern's passage entrance was also carried out silently. After all, Integration stage cultivators were already the peak of cultivation for those active on a daily basis. With the combined efforts of Lin Ling and Tian Yang, coupled with Li Fan, who was proficient in array formations, it was simply too easy to evade the detection of cultivators within Tianling State.

"We're only transferring the passage entrance, relocating it into the Spirit Wood Realm. We're not actually changing the cavern's location," Li Fan explained. "Strictly speaking, it's still a bit risky. If discovered, the Spirit Wood Realm would be exposed instead. However, once I truly assimilate the Five Elements Grand Cavern, this hidden danger will naturally disappear."

The spatial data for Tianling State had already been recorded. Next, only one person needed to return to the Spirit Wood Realm to complete the connection of the passage. Having Lin Ling make the trip wouldn't take too long.

However... Li Fan inadvertently glanced at Lin Ling. Ever since they entered Tianling State, she had seemed somewhat uneasy and distracted.

"Lin Ling, what's wrong? Why do I sense your mind is troubled?" Li Fan asked via spiritual transmission.

"Master..." Lin Ling's voice was a little panicked, and after a moment of hesitation, she confessed everything: "There seems to be a bad aura here. It's similar to the Mother Tree that Elder Earth Vein Ancient Tree warned us to avoid as much as possible... It's somewhat similar."

Upon hearing this, Li Fan's pupils suddenly constricted. "Ruomu?" Instantly, that name appeared in his mind. In his 115th life, it was also in Tianling State that he coincidentally encountered Ruomu's avatar, Daoist Rotten Wood. It was only natural for Lin Ling to sense Ruomu's aura here again now. However, what startled Li Fan was: since Lin Ling could sense Ruomu, could Ruomu also sense Lin Ling's presence?

A shiver of dread suddenly arose in his heart. Li Fan immediately ordered Tian Yang to accompany Lin Ling and swiftly leave Tianling State. He was to return after safely escorting Lin Ling back. Tian Yang immediately accepted the order. As the two departed, the fear in Li Fan's heart gradually subsided.

"The sense of crisis that just emerged was not an illusion," he mused. "Lin Ling must have truly fallen into Ruomu's sight. However, I don't know if it's due to Lin Ling's luck or some other reason. It didn't make a move."

Only after Tian Yang reported their safety, and both had returned to the Spirit Wood Realm, did Li Fan truly breathe a complete sigh of relief. In his eyes, Ruomu's danger level even surpassed that of Tianyi. After all, Ruomu and Mr. Bai were the only two beings he had encountered so far who could prevent him from even using Huanzhen.

"Surviving before was pure luck," he thought. "If there's a next time, the outcome is truly hard to say. It's best to avoid such old monsters as much as possible." Li Fan mused to himself while waiting for Tian Yang to return.

Without the help of Lin Ling's earth vein energy, Tian Yang flying alone would be much slower. He also had to prevent detection by cultivators along the way, further slowing his flight speed.

While Li Fan waited patiently, another spark of inspiration struck him. "Ruomu harbors deep hatred for cultivators. From time to time, it would deceive and capture cultivators to use them as tools for producing Golden Cores. However, its avatar, Daoist Rotten Wood, does not often appear in the world. At least in the 115th life, when Ximen Yu sought it out under my guidance, he couldn't find any trace of it. Previously, Ruomu appeared because of the great war in Tianling State, which resulted in innumerable cultivator deaths. Could its current appearance also be related to too many cultivators dying?"

Li Fan's eyes flickered. With Ruomu's cultivation level, if it truly wanted to lure cultivators, it wouldn't need to personally manifest as an avatar or expend any effort speaking. In Li Fan's opinion, Ruomu was actually enjoying the process: watching cultivators gradually lose themselves through its words, and finally, willingly be hung on its branches, serving as tools for cultivating Golden Cores for eternity. Ruomu's heart, filled with hatred, would undoubtedly feel immense pleasure.

"Perhaps it's like how we humans might have a small drink to celebrate when something joyous happens," Li Fan secretly speculated. "Now that Ruomu has reappeared, it might truly mean that another large-scale death of cultivators is about to occur. Even if it hasn't actually happened yet, it might have detected some clues beforehand."

While Li Fan was lost in thought, Tian Yang finally arrived, albeit belatedly. After some effort, they finally managed to alter the passage entrance to the Five Elements Grand Cavern. Li Fan only left after waiting for the lingering spatial fluctuations to dissipate. Before leaving, he didn't forget to cast a secret art again to seal off the anomaly in this area.